2010 Players Championship Finals

The Players Championship Finals was first organised by the Professional Darts Corporation (PDC) in 2009 and is the final tournament for the best players on the PDC Pro Tour. It occurred at the start of the season according to the final rankings of the year before.^[1] The 2010 competition was held between 28 and 31 January,^[2] and was the first of the five premier PDC events in the 2010 season.^[3] It was the second edition of the tournament and featured a 32-player draw at the Circus Tavern in Purfleet, Essex for the second successive year.^[2] Sponsored by the betting company totesport.com,^[4] it had a total prize fund of £250,000,^[2] and the host broadcaster was ITV4.^[5]

A total of 32 players from the final standings in the 2009 PDC Players Championship Order of Merit following the final Players Championship event of the 2009 season qualified for the competition with all of them seeded.^[a] The first seed was drawn against the 32nd seed while the second seed played the 31st seed and so on. Phil Taylor, the world number one and the 2009 Players Championship Finals winner, was the first seed and Mark Walsh was seeded second. Colin Osborne was seeded third and Adrian Lewis was the fourth seed.^[7] The maximum number of legs played in a match increased from 11 in the first round to 15 in the second and 17 and 19 in the quarter and semi-finals respectively, leading up to the best-of-25 legs final.^[8][9]

Bookmakers installed Taylor as the favourite to win the competition.^[6][10] He said he would like to retain the title at the Circus Tavern for the second successive year and commented on its format: "It's a short format in the first round but that will suit me because I've not played competitively since the World Championship. I haven't had a lot of time to prepare properly for this but I'm going into the tournament very relaxed."^[11]

The Professional Dart Players Association donated £50,000 to raise the overall prize fund from £200,000 in 2009 to £250,000 in 2010, with the winner receiving £60,000.^[12] The breakdown of prize money for the 2010 tournament is shown below.^[13]

The top 32 players from the PDC Players Championship Order of Merit after the last Players Championship of 2009 qualified for the event.

The first round of the competition, in which all 32 players participated, took place from 28 to 29 January.^[9] Colin Lloyd tied Denis Ovens four times before winning 6–5 on the double 16 ring in the final leg. Steve Beaton took a 5–0 lead and then won 6–2 over Tony Eccles after the latter prevented a whitewash with two finishes on the double 16 ring. Paul Nicholson, the 2009 Australian Open champion, defeated two-time world champion Dennis Priestley 6–2; Nicholson failed to complete a 170 checkout when he missed the bullseye ring in leg eight.^[14] Priestley said some errors lost him opportunities early on: "I may be getting too long in the tooth now but it didn't seem to go for me."^[14] Andy Hamilton led Alan Tabern 4–2 but Tabern tied at 4–4 with a 130 checkout and a finish on the double 13 ring. Hamilton then took legs nine and ten to win 6–4. Terry Jenkins was 5–3 behind Vincent van der Voort but achieved a 15-dart finish and a double 3 ring finish to win 6–5. Taylor used Peter Manley's misses at the double rings to win 6–2, while 2009 finalist Robert Thornton lost 6–3 to Kevin Painter after being 5–0 down but stopped a whitewash by winning three successive legs on checkouts of 121 and 77.^[14] Lewis overturned a 3–1 deficit to defeat Brendan Dolan 6–5 with a 100.49 three-dart average.^[14][15]

Wayne Jones beat the unwell Andy Smith 6–2 on checkouts of 68 and 74. Wes Newton used Peter Wright's errors to win 6–2 and attain a three-dart average of 97.59. Osborne led 3–1 and finished on the double 4 and 16 rings to beat Co Stompé 6–3 and requite his loss to the latter in the first round of the 2009 Las Vegas Desert Classic. Walsh led Steve Hine 3–0 before the latter took four of the next six legs to go 5–4 ahead. Walsh twice threw on an 84 checkout to win 6–4. Both Jelle Klaasen and Gary Anderson shared the first two legs of their match before Klaasen took five consecutive legs to win 6–1. Anderson said he practised well but did not perform during the game.^[16] Mervyn King beat James Wade 6–5.^[17] Trailing 5–2,^[17] checkouts of 130 and 96 allowed King to force a final leg decider, which he won on a 106 checkout after two errors from Wade.^[16] After coming from 4–1 down, Ronnie Baxter defeated Mark Dudbridge 6–5 in a final leg decider forced by Dudbridge and won by Baxter on a double 8 ring finish. Baxter failed to complete a nine-dart finish after missing the double 12 ring on his ninth throw. The final first round match saw Michael van Gerwen defeat Jamie Caven 6–2.^[16]

The second round consisted on best-of-15 legs on 30 January.^[8] Beaton became the second world champion to be eliminated from the tournament when he lost 8–5 to Nicholson. The two players twice shared the lead in the first eight legs before Nicholson led by two legs en route to earning the first quarter-final spot on a 70 checkout in leg 13. Lloyd came from 4–2 down to win six successive legs on checkouts of 106 and 108 with a three-dart average of 102.36 in an 8–4 victory over Painter. Jones came from 5–2 behind Walsh to secure six legs in a row and win 8–5. The afternoon's final match saw Newton defeat Baxter 8–7 on a final leg decider. He led 5–2 from checkouts of 99, 124 and a 13-dart finish before Baxter's 116 checkout and finish on the double 20 ring saw him win three of the next five legs. Five misses for Newton allowed Baxter to win the next two legs on finishes on the double 6 ring to force a final leg decider won by the former on the double 4 ring.^[18]

The evening session commenced with Lewis achieving 8–7 victory over Hamilton. Lewis established a 6–3 advantage on checkouts of 120 and 84 as well as finishes of 13 and 15 darts to which Hamilton came back to reduce the deficit to a single leg. Lewis took leg 12 and Hamilton the 13th after the former missed the double 16 ring. Hamilton's finish on the double 8 ring moved the match to a final leg decider, which Lewis won on a 56 checkout. King made finishes on the double 4, 8 and 18 rings and a ninth-leg match-winning checkout of 61 to defeat Klassen 8–1; the one leg Klassen took came on a 96 checkout in leg six. King expressed sympathy for Klassen and called it "an awkward match."^[18] Taylor and Jenkins were never separated by more than a single leg in their game, which Taylor won 8–7 on a 14-dart finish.^[19] Taylor made a 160 checkout in the ninth leg.^[18] In the last second-round game, Osborne achieved a 160 checkout in his 6–2 defeat of Van Gerwen, saying afterwards: "Michael wasn't at his best but I can only worry about my own darts and that's what I did."^[18]

The four best-of-19 leg quarter-finals took place on the afternoon of 31 January.^[9] Lewis and Nicholson played the first quarter-final. Nicholson led 3–1 from finishes on the double 20 and 2 rings as well a checkout of 101 in leg two. Both players shared the following nine legs to tie at 7–7 score before Nicholson achieved a 13-dart finish and a double 8 ring finish to win the match 9–7 and qualified for his first televised semi-final. The second quarter-final was between Osborne and Newton. Osborne, the 2009 Championship League Darts champion, opened up a 6–3 lead from errors made by Newton in the first nine legs. He was unable to complete a nine-dart finish when his seventh throw at the triple 20 ring was unsuccessful, allowing Osborne to claim two more legs on a 70 checkout and a finish on the double 20 ring to put himself a leg away from entry to the semi-finals. Checkouts of 96 and 124 from Newton forced the game to end with a 17th leg, which Osborne clinched on a finish on the double 8 ring for a 9–8 victory following errors by Newton.^[20]

The third quarter-final was between Lloyd and Taylor. Lloyd led 5–3 as both players exchanged the lead. Taylor took the lead on a 112 checkout in the 9th leg, a 15-dart finish in the 10th, a finish on the double 8 ring in the 11th and a 76 checkout in the 12th. Lloyd won two more legs on checkouts of 130 and 121 as Taylor sealed a 9–7 victory on a 14-dart finish in leg 15 and a three-dart average of 106.44.^[20] Taylor said Lloyd "seemed to take the darts off me" and commented that Nicholson would be a difficult opponent.^[21] King and Jones played the last quarter-final. Finishes on the double 5 and 16 rings and checkouts of 72 and 64 put King 6–1 ahead before Jones achieved an 11-dart finish in the eighth leg for a second leg. King subsequently took the next three legs on a 64 checkout and a finish on the double 16 ring for the last semi-final spot in a 9–2 win.^[20] King said post-match he was doubtful in one leg but would accept the result.^[21]

Both of the best-of-21 leg semi-finals were held later that evening.^[9] The first semi-final was played by King and Osborne. King took four of the first five legs with finishes on the double 2, 8 and 16 rings. Osborne won the next two with finishes in 13 and 14 throws respectively before his errors allowed King to claim the next three legs on a checkout of 101 and the double 20 ring. Both players shared the following four legs, which saw King be within a leg of victory, until Osborne produced finishes on the double 16 and 8 rings and an 81 checkout. King struck the double 20 ring in the 18th leg to end the match an 10–8 winner and earn a spot in the final.^[20] King expressed his surprise to lead at the first interval but was delighted to qualify for the final. Osborne said the beginning of the match was when he became aware of what he was confronted with and conceded "it wasn't good enough at the end of the day."^[20]

Nicholson and Taylor contested the second semi-final. Taylor led 3–1 from checkouts of 61 and 79 as well as a 14-dart finish. Nicholson made checkouts of 121 and 130 in legs five and six to draw level. The two players exchanged the next two legs before Nicholson took a 6–4 lead on a checkout of 76 completed on the double 16 ring in leg eight and a tournament-high checkout of 170 in the ninth. Nicholson moved two legs ahead with a 13-dart finish in the 10th leg, which Taylor nullified by winning legs 11 and 12. Two misses from Taylor at the double 16 ring allowed Nicholson to obtain a three-leg advantage and go within one leg of taking the second berth in the final. But Taylor used errors from Nicholson to win the next two legs on the double 4 ring and a subsequent 64 checkout to force a final leg decider. Nicholson took the lead on two scores of more than 100 and hit the double five ring to win 10–9. Post-match, Nicholson said his finishing was the key to victory and Taylor felt the latter was a deserved winner due to Nicholson playing better.^[20]

The best-of-25 legs final between King and Nicholson commenced at 21:30 local time that same evening.^[8][9] Nicholson took the first leg on a 105 checkout and King the second to level at 1–1. Both of the following two legs were shared, which saw a 96 checkout from Nicholson in leg four, before King took the lead on the double 16 ring at the first interval. Nicholson returned to the lead by securing another two legs until King's finishes on the double 16 and 10 rings regained him the lead. Nicholson restored the score to a tie with a finish on the double 12 ring, but King clinched four of the next six legs to go 9–7 in front. Checkouts of 76, 90 and 68 won Nicholson back the lead and King took the 20th leg. Nicholson achieved finishes of 14 and 11 throws to be within a leg of victory until King made an 80 checkout to secure an 11th leg. The match was won by Nicholson 13–11 on the double 8 ring.^[22]

Nicholson won his first major PDC tournament, earning £60,000 prize money for doing so; he progressed to 16th in the PDC Order of Merit.^[20] Nicholson commented on the effect of his victory: "It's absolutely incredible and means a massive amount to me, I had a lot of my energy sapped from the semi-final against Phil, but I was desperate to win the final."^[22] He added his play was receding following a Players Championship event in Barnsley in June 2009 and that advice from King helped him.^[22] Although King lost to Nicholson, he moved to fourth in the PDC Order of Merit.^[20] He said he was upset to lose because he felt the final was his worst performance of the competition but hoped to win the tournament in the future.^[22]